Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 14

Thread: Anybody with experience with "potato onions"?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Location
    NE Wisconsin
    Posts
    4,076

    Default Anybody with experience with "potato onions"?

    Hi there,

    I ordered and planted some potato onions last fall with my garlic and EWO's.

    The garlic is up very nicely, and so are the EWO's. But there is not one spout from the potato onions. (about 2 dozen were planted)

    I didn't dig around in the patch to see what became of the onion bulbs, but the top was not disturbed like it was dug into from the top, and they were planted in 6 inch high raised beds. . .. .

    Are they slower to get started in the spring than those other fall planted items?
    It is sobering to reflect that one of the best ways to get yourself a reputation as a dangerous citizen these days is to go about repeating the very phrases which our founding fathers used in the struggle for independence. - Charles A. Beard

    In this day and age, the only path of honor for a patriot IS to become a traitor. - Miradus
    [/SIZE]

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    WA Coast
    Posts
    4,774

    Default

    Ours come up at about the same time as garlic and grow about twice as fast thereafter.


  3. #3
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Posts
    60

    Default

    Potato onions are usually much slower to emerge than garlic. With a mid October planting in Zone 5, even with the warm winter and a good mulch of shredded leaves, the potato onions showed very little growth until the warmth in March, while garlic showed greens in November and held well all winter. If you didn't have the "zombie weather" in March of 5 consecutive days in the 70's & 80's, give them a bit.

    After emergence, put down a bit of a high nitrogen fertilizer such as a lawn fertilizer or a good organic source of nitrogen and watch the potato onions take off.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Beautiful Lakes & Mountains of East TN
    Posts
    5,177

    Default

    I just ordered some Potato Onions (aka Multiplier Onions) from Territorial Seed and am anxious to try them!

    My onions just don't seem to get very big, whether I grow them from sets or from seedlings, so...hoping for the best!

    I had always been concerned about a sustainable source for onions since we love them so much so I've cast a wide net...OP seeds, multiplier onions, and Egyptian walking onions (from christieacres, of course!).

    Here's some info on potato/multiplier onions - which I'd never heard of until a few weeks ago: http://www.veggiegardeningtips.com/potato-onions/

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    WA Coast
    Posts
    4,774

    Default

    I took this picture to illustrate why one should not plant after imbibing, but it can serve a dual purpose.

    This is garlic and potato onions in February. Garlic is on the left and potato onions on the right. They both came up in November following an October planting and only grew a couple inches before picking up in February. The potato onions definitely grow more vigorously than garlic for us.

    The potato onions are now about a foot tall, while garlic is about 8 inches.



  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Beautiful Lakes & Mountains of East TN
    Posts
    5,177

    Default

    haha awesome, Dis!

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Location
    NE Wisconsin
    Posts
    4,076

    Default

    UPdate on the potato onions.

    I have about 8-10 emerging now, after our 2 weeks of unseasonably warm weather. It's turned cold again now, so hopefully everything will slow down a bit. Garlic is approaching 10 inches tall!!

    I'm picking up the rest of the ingredients for COF (complete organic fertilizer) from the feed store today or tomorrow when the chicks come in, so I'll mix up a batch and fertilize.

    Once the wind stops blowing 40 miles an hour!!

    It is sobering to reflect that one of the best ways to get yourself a reputation as a dangerous citizen these days is to go about repeating the very phrases which our founding fathers used in the struggle for independence. - Charles A. Beard

    In this day and age, the only path of honor for a patriot IS to become a traitor. - Miradus
    [/SIZE]

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Beautiful Lakes & Mountains of East TN
    Posts
    5,177

    Default

    COF? CM, are you gardening using Solomon's book "Gardening When it Counts"?

    I'm reading it for the second time right now and am anxious to try out his methods.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Location
    NE Wisconsin
    Posts
    4,076

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by bbkaren View Post
    COF? CM, are you gardening using Solomon's book "Gardening When it Counts"?

    I'm reading it for the second time right now and am anxious to try out his methods.
    YES! Although I piece-mealed my way through it (topics I liked first) I have read it cover to cover, too. How are you liking it?

    Although I must warn you, he has some discrepancies between his book about COF, and what he says on the MotherEarthNews.

    http://www.motherearthnews.com/Organ...ur-Garden.aspx

    In the book, he says to use COF throughout the season to fertilize, and at the above website, he says absolutely DO NOT use COF to fertilize more than once a year. Just use a straight seedmeal or you risk overliming.

    Nonetheless, I am making COF, sans dolomite lime, as it is proving impossible to find around here. Nobody has heard of it. Which is odd, because this area sits on a big strip of dolomite lime!

    ETA: BTW, bbkaren, I am trying to grow onions for the same reason you are. I can't get them to grow bigger than a golfball! And we go through 3-5 big onions a week sometimes, so it is a key ingredient in our house. I am hedging my bets this year. I ordered onion plants, onion sets, and put in both walking onions and potato onions last fall. Surely out of those, *something* will grow! We'll have to compare notes at the end of the season.
    It is sobering to reflect that one of the best ways to get yourself a reputation as a dangerous citizen these days is to go about repeating the very phrases which our founding fathers used in the struggle for independence. - Charles A. Beard

    In this day and age, the only path of honor for a patriot IS to become a traitor. - Miradus
    [/SIZE]

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Beautiful Lakes & Mountains of East TN
    Posts
    5,177

    Default

    CM, thanks! Great info--

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •